BOROUGH councillors should have more say on where money secured from new developments should be spent and a working party of them should be set up to decide on money in Loughborough, it’s been proposed.

They’re among proposals that have been submitted to Charnwood Borough Council’s cabinet which meets on April 9 by a Section 106 funds scrutiny panel set up to look at how money is spent in the area where the new development has been agreed.

A Section 106 is a legal agreement between the council and a developer signed before planning permission is granted for new developments.

It acts as a kind of compensation, for example the developer will agree to give money to schools and doctors to pay for changes that may be needed due to the effect their development may have. Communities can also ask to fund other projects.

Among the recommendations put forward are that borough councillors, parish and town councils should be informed of the potential for an agreement at ‘the earliest possible stage and throughout the process’.

With Loughborough not having an equivalent to a parish or town council, another recommendation is for the setting up of the working party of the town’s ward councillors to allow them to have their say on where Section 106 funding should go.

The report by the scrutiny management board to the cabinet, states: “Often ward councillors only found out the proposals for a Section 106 Agreement when they received the plans committee reports a week before the meeting and then it was too late to make any comments.

“This was a missed opportunity as ward councillors were more aware of local needs. It appeared that officers identified projects instead of asking parish/town councils what was needed.

“Lack of consultation was of particular concern for Loughborough councillors. All monies seemed to be put in a general pot for Loughborough and councillors not consulted.”